The invention relates to an apparatus for processing tubular fabric, in its final stage of processing (textile finishing) before going to garment manufacturing units to become a ready to use product (t-shirts, trousers, dresses, etc.). The invention is used in the final line processing (finishing) of fabric, where it goes after the dye on dyeing machines and before cutting into pieces that go on to be sewed according to the garment design.
Until recently the reduction of spirality effect on the fabric, which leads to displacement of the seams on finished fabrics (such as t-shirts, trousers, etc.) that is observed after washing and drying, was achieved by using various types of machinery that perform under the principle of “rollers move fabric”. However, the anticipated result of minimizing the spirality of the knitting was not achieved because the circular cross-section of the fabric produced by the circular knitting machine does not allow any additional management or accurate control of fabric spirality.
The problems that occurred by the erroneous management of fabric were mainly failures in the final result, with the final levels of remaining spirality being above the generally acceptable level of 4-6%. As an example, it was a frequent phenomenon during the wash of a t-shirt to have displacement of seams (B) from their initial place (A) (see FIG. 5), resulting in the production of defective products. These defects occur because the fabric was produced by a circular knitting machine, but furthermore because fabric is being stressed during the dyeing process in the dying machines and during the finishing stage after the dying process. Consequently, the result of the production process and fabric processing is the creation of a knitting spirality effect, so that the seams and the design of the garments are being displaced.